ACP, wife planned their son's murder

ACP Shivaji Naravne, who was the deceased Rohan Zodge's stepfather, made him consume alcohol before slashing his neck

New developments have come to the fore, which reveal the modus operandi behind the murder of a 25-year-old that occurred on Friday.

Caught: ACP Shivaji Naravne (centre) being led away by the police. Naravne has been remanded to police custody till October 31

Rohan Zodge was found dead in his flat and the Tilak Nagar police had arrested his mother, Nanda, for the crime. She had told the police that she had murdered her son in a fit of rage. But after making further inquiries, the 45-year-old woman revealed the involvement of her husband, Shivaji Naravne, who is an assistant commissioner of police (protection and security branch).

Nanda Zodge’s first husband, a doctor, left the family after he found out she was having an affair with ACP Naravne. According to Nanda, Rohan was addicted to drugs and frequently used to hit her because of his unhappiness over her relationship and eventual marriage to Naravne. She said he also sexually abused her daughter.

Tired of the abuse, the husband-wife duo planned the murder. On the day of the incident, the 56-year-old cop asked his wife to send their daughter to a relative’s place. He made his stepson consume alcohol, and allegedly, even gave him some drugs.

“When the son lost consciousness, the ACP brought a knife from the kitchen and slashed his neck. After his body fell to the ground, the angry mother threw a slab of marble on his face,” said an officer from the Tilak Nagar police station.

Following the incident, the policeman left the house in the wee hours of Saturday, leaving the door ajar. In the morning, neighbours who saw the pool of blood informed the police control room. Officers arrived and arrested the mother.

“Later, on Saturday evening, the mother revealed her husband’s involvement in the crime, after which we informed our superiors and asked Naravne to surrender for inquiries. He was later arrested on technical grounds,” added the officer. The ACP subsequently confessed to the murder.

Naravne has been booked under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code and has been remanded to police custody till October 31.